Bayern Munich director of sport Max Eberl says the club “saved the best for last” with their appointment of Vincent Kompany as their new head coach.
Kompany’s arrival at Bayern from Burnley was made official on Wednesday as the former defender signed a three-year deal with the German side.
Burnley and Bayern agreed a €12million (£10.2m) compensation package for the 38-year-old, whose contract had been due to run until June 2028.
Kompany was unveiled alongside Eberl and Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen on Thursday, with the Belgian saying he wanted to play “aggressive” football.
“Vincent’s two years at Anderlecht were exceptional, he coached the youngest team in Europe there,” Eberl said.
“Then he decided to move to England. (Burnley) were promoted to the Premier League with a record 101 points and (played) impressive football. That’s why he’s been on my and Christoph (Freund, sporting director)’s list for a long time.
“In terms of experience, we’re now going down the path together with him. We had a long decision-making process when looking for a coach and I can say: you save the best for last.”
Former Bayern head coach Thomas Tuchel announced in February he was to step down at the end of the season, one year before his contract was due to run out.
Bayer Leverkusen’s title-winning coach Xabi Alonso was considered to replace Tuchel before opting to remain in his current role. Julian Nagelsmann, who was sacked by Bayern in February of last year, then extended his contract as head coach of the Germany men’s national team after being linked with a return.
Alonso stated he would remain as Leverkusen coach for next season in March, before ending the domestic season unbeaten (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Austria’s Ralf Rangnick, former boss Hansi Flick — who has since been confirmed as Barcelona’s new head coach — and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner were also sounded out, with Tuchel also not persuaded to reverse his decision.
Kompany’s appointment comes following Burnley’s relegation to the Championship after just one season in the Premier League. The Lancashire side spent £90m in the summer of 2023 after their promotion but won only five of their 38 top flight games and finished 19th, eight points below 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.
“You have to be on the same page internally and I felt that here,” Kompany added. “That’s why I decided in favour of Bayern and against other options.
“In our first year at Burnley in the Championship, we set a record points tally, in our second in the Premier League we had one of the smallest budgets. We didn’t change much after promotion, I gave it my all. I’ve stayed the same. That’s why I have no plans to change here either.
“I grew up on the streets of Brussels, in the Anderlecht academy. You have to be a team, I want my players to have courage, I want us to be aggressive. I want us to play like that, that’s also my character. We want to keep that up for entire games.
“We’ll discuss internally what the squad needs. We want to win every game, always. That must always be our priority. Of course, the Champions League final is in Munich in 2025. But we won’t achieve that by talking about it, we’ll have to work hard for it every day in training.”
(Michaela Stache/AFP via Getty Images)
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